For safety-related applications, it must at all times be ensured that the camera detects if a component is not operating according to the specifications.
The group of time-of-flight camera systems not only comprises systems that determine the distances directly from the light travel time, but in particular also all light travel time, or 3D TOF camera systems, which acquire light travel time data from the phase shift of emitted and received radiation. Photonic mixer devices (PMD) are especially suitable as light travel time or 3D TOF cameras, as they are described in the applications EP 1 777 747, U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,186 and also DE 197 04 496 and others, and are available, for example from “ifm electronic gmbh” as the frame grabber 03D. The PMD camera in particular allows a flexible arrangement of the light source and of the detector, which can be arranged in a housing as well as separately. Of course, cameras or devices with at least one receiving pixel should also be included in the term camera, or camera system, like the applicant's distance measuring device OID.